Next up on the "Proto-Villain" Project, we have the Zargonite! Back in the late 70s and early 80s, Action Man was going through the Star Wars craze. As such, they conceived the Action Man Space Rangers. I did do Captain Zargon a few posts back and I knew eventually I'd tackle the Zargonite. The cool thing about this character was that this character could be anyone and no one at the same time. I used the box art as inspiration for that but decided they would be female and that their actual identity would remain a mystery to all, even Captain Zargon. I like to imagine her as a sort of Mandalorian type.

Original:





Homage:


She was built using the MTF Valkyrie Black Body, Female Combat Vest and White Bandolier; Marvel Universe 3.75 Maria Hill handgun, lower arms and lower legs; Bootleg Vitruvian HACKS Blank Female masked head; G.I. Joe Steel Brigade Helmet with modified clear visor and scrap parts for the holster and to help give the helmet definition. This project annoyed me somewhat because of how finicky the whole thing felt. Still, the end result is well worth it.

Extra Images:












What she looks like without the helmet:




WIP Progress Images:

Great work on that. Especially like the mods you made to the helmet.

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These customs are so much fun. And glad to see that the BW/MH lower arms & legs work with the Valkyrie figs - I've got a few that I've been wanting to shorten/demilitarize without slicing the ankles down.

Awesome stuff!

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really nice! the shots together look especially cool.

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Thank you! The helmet took some figuring out especially when solving the transparency issue with clear plastic from a soda bottle.



Yea. They work pretty well. The only issue I have is the tightness in the elbow joints. It's really annoying how tight they are. Any suggestions on loosening joints?



Thanks, dude. When I get a chance I'll take a few more shots. She was due for a few more touchups. What do you think of using a little glue to further protect some of the exposed painted areas like the piping on the sides of her feet and arms?

i don't think i would use glue on a figure to seal it, but it might work. i've heard of people using brush on "mod podge" or something similar that sounds a lot like white glue. i use spray clear in matte or gloss depending on the effect. most of my stuff is unsealed because i was afraid of aerosol paint on plastic. my cobra la lab and a few of my darker vehicles and maybe some figures have a combo of brush on polyurethane and dark stain. i got that stuff from my wife who was a pro faux finisher for 20yrs. i did recently discover paint plus white glue in fabrics are really great for soft goods as far as holding shape and overall weathered look.

whatever you decide to try i'd recommend a test on a similar surface to see how it looks/reacts.

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Depending on the type of joint, I usually put the fig in hot/almost-boiling water (which is tough if you've already painted) to pop it out. Then I will take a Dremel bit that is only slightly bigger than the existing hole and do a quick zap to expand it. Since the Dremel bit will warm up the plastic, it shrinks back down as you're reassembling (if you do it quickly enough), but with the extra wiggle room. The trick is not to go too wide - just enough to let the joint move more freely. I've had to do it a lot lately while working on some of my Marauder MTF customs, since the pegs on the hands (and their torsos, sadly) are slightly different between different versions of their figures.

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Thanks for the feedback! Valuable information all the same. The trouble isn't the elbow rotation but the pivoting joint itself. That part is supa tight. Any suggestions with that?

just putting it in the almost boiling water then move the joints that are stiff while it cools. this will remove the factory sealant if there is any, and should relax the stiffness.

eta i have 5 fortnite figures in a pile that will need this since i broke a foot off trying to loosen a stiff joint. you might go as far as testing your fodder figures then doing all the stiff ones at one time. each figure has multiple types of plastics and sometimes the manufacturer chooses poorly. big rubber pins on indiana jones figures come to mind.

also if you dremel too wide you can use heat shrink to tighten it up. or even fit a small peg hand into a big hole with layers of heatshrink. i usually over drill (deep and wide) head/neck holes then use a layer of heatshrink to fine tune the fit. in most cases that gives better range of motion while still holding a pose. i literally use heatshrink all the time

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Awesome recreation. Space Pirates rule!

I'm not familiar with this character but its a great version of it.

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Another win. Great stuff!

Thanks a lot, past nastification!



Thank you! I wasn't familiar with the character until last year. It took some convincing to do it because, with anything I put energy into, I like to have a good reason for doing it. After finding the reason, here we are.



Thanks! Yes. Space Pirates do!

Secret's out. Even I needed to know who was under that helmet. An East Indian beauty. Also gave her an extra pistol, painted in the same style as the Space Ranger Arms accessory sets they used to sell in the 80s.

she looks great unmasked. not being a ghoul would allow her to throw on a dress and infiltrate inner circles socially

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Thanks! Actually it would fit her overall backstory that I'm writing. I still don't intend for her to ever remove her helmet again though haha. But for those super covert moments, it would make for an amazing surprise for her to get out of nasty situations or gather really good information.